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In The Budget Message o the President that accompanied the Admin-istrations FY2014 Budget to Congress, President Obama stated that the

Budget maintains a world-class commitment to science and research,

targeting resources to those areas most likely to contribute directly to the

creation o transormational technologies that can create the businesses

and jobs o the uture. Specically, the budget requests an increase o $25

million in key areas o national priority led by the Engineering Laboratory:

Cyber-Physical Systems (+$10M), Smart Manuacturing (+$10M), and

Disaster Resilience Frameworks and Standards (+$5M). We have worked

hard to plan these programs and are well positioned and ready to initiate

work in partnership with our stakeholders once an appropriation is received.In this issue o The Engineering Laboratory (EL) Newsletter, we ocus on just a

ew o the great successes that the Lab has had over the last ew months in

support o industry and society.

On pages 2 and 14, you can read about our

Smart Grid eorts, rom NIST Director Pat

Gallagher signing the ocial memorandum

to privatize the Smart Grid Interoperability

Panel with SGIP 2.0 Chair John McDonald

to the Green Button initiative that provides

energy consumers with electronic access totheir energy usage data.

Readers o the EL Newsletter will recall our

move into Cyber-Physical Systems and those

eorts have resulted in the publication o

a trio o reports. Our eorts will accelerate

with the arrival o Presidential Innovation Fellows in the coming months.

You can read about these on pages 4-5.

On page 8, you can read about the worlds rst hazard scale or wildland res

that will accurately assess risk and allow communities to better resist the threat

o re through improved building codes, standards and practices.

Other articles will provide insight into our research eorts in re, concrete,

energy-eciency, and U.S. manuacturing. Finally, you will see some awards,

publications, and new appointments that illustrate the great work o our sta.

Please visit our website or more inormation on ongoing activities

in the Laboratory: www.nist.gov/el/

Sincerely,

Dr. S. Shyam Sunder

Director, NIST Engineering Laboratory

Whats inside

NIST-established Smart Grid Standards

Group Reaches Key Milestone 2

New Reports Dene Strategic Vision,

Propose R&D Priorities or Future

Cyber-Physical Systems 4

NIST to Host Three Presidential

Innovation Fellows 5

Live Burns in Spartanburg, S.C.,

Will Benet Research and

Fireghter Training 6

Using Internally Cured Concrete in

Indiana Bridges 7

Worlds First Hazard Scale

or Wildland Fires 8

New York Taps NISTs Sunder or

Post-Sandy Review 11

NIST Workshop Seeks

Manuacturers Ideas on Using

Multipurpose Robots 12

States Realize Big Benets by

Keeping Current with Energy

Standards or Buildings 13

New Guide Will Allow Electric

Utilities to Develop

Green Button Web Tools 14

New NIST Report Provides

Comprehensive Overview o

U.S. Manuacturing 15

Three Experts Named to Earthquake

Advisory Board 16

Sta Awards 16

Recent Publications 17

engineering laboratoryN e w s l e t t e r S p r i n g 2 0 1 3

An engineer teaching a NIST robothow to handle packages deliveredto a conveyor by an automatedguided vehicle
http://www.nist.gov/elhttp://www.nist.gov/el


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NIST-established Smart Grid

Standards Group Reaches

Key Milestone

J

ust like a proud parent showing

o graduation pictures o a son

or daughter, NIST leaders haverecently been touting the growth and

accomplishments o the Smart Grid

Interoperability Panel (SGIP). The

SGIP was established in December

2009 to support NIST in ullling its

responsibility to coordinate standards

development or the Smart Grid.

Earlier this year, the SGIP took an im-

portant step in its development when

it began operating as a sel-sustainingnot-or-prot legal entity, a move that

NIST envisioned when it established

the SGIP in 2009.

NIST has been involved in mea-

surement research and standards

development related to the electric

grid or over a century (see History

o Electrical Research at NIST). So

when Congress established the Smart

Grid as a national priority in the

Energy Independence and Security

Act o 2007 (EISA), it was only t-

ting that NIST was tasked with a key

assignmentto coordinate develop-

ment o a ramework that includes

protocols and model standards or

inormation management to achieve

interoperability o Smart Grid de-

vices and systems.

Smart Grid reers to the mod-

ernized electric grid, now being

developed, that uses inormation

technology to deliver electricity

eciently, reliably, and securely.

Unlike todays grid, which primarily

delivers electricity in a one-way fow

rom generator to outlet, the Smart

Grid will permit the two-way fow o

both electricity and

inormation.

The Smart Grid,

which is really a

system o systems,

will be a vast, inter-

connected network

that includes every-

thing rom power

plants and rootop

solar panels to elec-

tric substations and electric cars to

smart rerigerators and dishwashers.

Linking together so many individual

systems and devices, each built in a

specic time and place (across years

and continents) by dierent manu-

acturers, is a daunting challenge.

The goal o interoperability is to

ensure the capability o two or more

networks, systems, devices, applica-

tions, or components to exchange

and readily use inormationse-

curely, eectively, and with little or

no inconvenience to the user.

In order to achieve interoperability in

such a complex ecosystem o manu-

acturers, consumers, energy provid-

ers, and regulators, leaders at NIST

realized that they must develop a

orum to bring these diverse stake-

holders together. NISTs task took

on added urgency and importance in

early 2009 when President Obama

identied and unded Smart Grid

development as a key element o the

American Recovery and Reinvest-

ment Act o 2009 (ARRA, common-

ly known as the Stimulus Act).

Throughout 2009, NIST organized

a series o meetings and workshops

that brought together business leaers and technical experts to ident

key areas where standards coord

tion would be required to ll stan

dards gaps, harmonize existing st

dards, and meet the new needs a

opportunities made possible by t

evolving Smart Grid. Late in 200

NIST created the SGIP as the org

nization where this diverse group

stakeholders could come togetheaccomplish this important work.

With NIST providing unding to a

minister the organization and to a

celerate its technical work, the SG

quickly got to work. The membe

ship o the SGIP grew to nearly 8

companies and organizations ro

22 dierent stakeholder categorie

Over the next three years, more

than 30 groups o volunteer expe(called Committees, Priority Actio

Plans, and Domain Expert Worki

Groups) worked diligently to de

use cases and requirements, ham

out dierences, and reach consen

on Smart Grid standards that wou

help achieve interoperability. On

any given day, three or our o the

groups, ranging in size rom ve

NIST Director Pat Gallagher and SGIP 2.0 Chair John

McDonald smile and shake hands ater signing the oci

MOU with SGIP 2.0, solidiying the uture relationship o

NIST with the new organization.


3/173

ty members, would be meeting

in conerence calls, webinars, or

ace-to-ace meetings. These groups

established and maintained requent

interactions with the dozens o Stan-

dards Setting Organizations (SSOs)

who were ultimately responsible or

developing the specic standards.

The entire process was based on

openness and consensus, and a col-

laborative wiki was used to acilitate

sharing and storing o inormation.

Within just a ew months, the de-

liverables (such as new standards,

guidelines, white papers, reports,

etc.) started to fow. The work prod-

ucts were captured in the Interop-

erability Knowledge Base and the

Catalog o Standards. The Catalog o

Standards serves as a compendium

o standards, practices, and guide-

lines considered relevant or the

development and deployment o a

robust and interoperable Smart Grid.

The extensive inormation included

or each entry in the Catalog o

Standards is a very useul resource

or utilities, manuacturers, regula-

tors, consumers, and other Smart

Grid stakeholders. Each standard

included in the Catalog goes through

an extensive review process and

must be accepted by a supermajor-

ity o the SGIP voting members. As

o February 1, the Catalog contains

more than 50 standards or standards

components.

Since the creation o SGIP in 2009, it

has been the goal o NIST to support

and nurture the organization until it

matures enough to stand on its own.

Throughout 2012, leaders rom NIST

and SGIP worked together to make

that transition process a reality. And

on December 4, 2012, NIST

Director Patrick

Gallagher and

SGIP Governing

Board Chair John

McDonald, GE

Digital Energy,

signed a Memo-

randum o Under-

standing (MOU)

that outlines how

the two groups

will partner and

work together in

the years ahead.

In recent weeks,

SGIP 2.0, Inc. has

begun operating

independently,

with nearly 100

organizations

signed upand paying duesas

ounding members o the new orga-

nization.The day-to-day eorts o the

many expert working groups within

SGIP 2.0 continue unabated, and the

Catalog o Standards will grow in the

months ahead to include hundreds

o Smart Grid-related standards.

More details about SGIP 2.0s value

propositionand inormation on

how to become a memberare

available on its website, sgip.org.

Looking back at the past three years,

George Arnold (Director, Smart Grid

and Cyber Physical Systems Program

Oce, and National Coordinator

or Smart Grid Interoperability) said,The SGIP has been a remarkable

success. It has empowered a stan-

dards coordination process that is

broader, aster, and stronger. Weve

been able to make a great start on

achieving our long-term goal o

Smart Grid interoperability.

The process, however, must con-

tinue or years to come as the Smart

Grid evolves. Were delighted,

thereore, that private industry has

now been able to take over its prop-

er role in our American standards

process, which is built on industry-

led, voluntary standards.

In addition to its standards coordina-

tion role, NISTs Smart Grid program

perorms vital research supporting

the nations electrical industry and

inrastructure. Drawing on its sci-

entic, technical, and engineering

expertise, NIST characterizes and

measures many o the critical ele-

ments that make up the Smart Grid.

For more details about the NIST

Smart Grid Program, please visit the

website (www.nist.gov/smartgrid).
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New Reports Defne Strategic Vision, Propose R&D

Priorities or Future Cyber-Physical Systems

I designed and built eciently,

fexibly and securely, next-gener-

ation cyber-physical systems (CPS)

now sprouting rom interconnectionsthat join the digital and engineered

physical worlds will deliver extraor-

dinary capabilities and tremendous

benets on scales ranging rom

individuals to organizations and rom

industries to national and global

economies.

Three new reports prepared or the

National Institute o Standards and

Technology (NIST) distill the per-spectives o executives and techni-

cal experts rom industry, academia

and government on the is and the

whats next o emerging intelligent

systems-o-systems technologies.

Complex technical, institutional and

societal challenges notwithstand-

ing, uture CPS could have sweeping

impacts on how we live, work and

do business, according to the reports.

CPS are enabling a new generation

o smart systemsand the eco-

nomic impacts could be enormous,

explains the summary report o a

NIST-organized roundtable o indus-

try and government executives and

university leaders. The disruptive

technologies emerging rom combin-

ing the cyber and physical worlds

could provide an innovation engineor a broad range o U.S. industries,

creating entirely new markets and

platorms or growth.

CPS go well beyond todays em-

bedded systems, which are largely

task-specic machines that operate

under computer control. Anticipated

CPS uses such as intelligent vehicles

and highways and next-generation

air transportation will be signicantly

more ambitious, diverse and inte-

grated than those o todays task-spe-

cialized embedded systems.*

The broad sweep o anticipated CPS

uses is suggested by a variety o other

labels inspired by the convergence o

networking and inormation process-

ing technologies with engineered

physical systems. Together, they cre-

ate systems that integrate distributed

networks o sensors, controls andprocessorsor example, internet

o things, industrial internet and

smarter planet.

The good news, according to the ex-

perts assembled by NIST, is that the

United States, as the world leader

in cutting-edge cyber technologies

and engineered physical systems, is

well-positioned to reap the competi-

tive advantages o developing and

mastering advanced CPS. But other

nations are not conceding these

advantages.

The European Union, or example,

plans to invest $7 billion on embed-

ded systems and CPS, with the aim

o becoming a global leader in the

eld by 2020. Japan, which currently

hosts the worlds largest tradeshow

on embedded systems, has similar

ambitions.Developed with input rom about

80 experts in CPS and related tech-

nologies, the new reports provide a

strategic vision and business drivers

motivating concerted public-private

* For examples, see the Department o Transportations Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Oce at www.its.dot.

gov/ and its Federal Aviation Administration NextGen Program Oce at http://www.aa.gov/nextgen/
http://www.its.dot.gov/http://www.its.dot.gov/http://www.faa.gov/nextgenhttp://www.faa.gov/nextgenhttp://www.its.dot.gov/http://www.its.dot.gov/


5/175

eorts to achieve the unprecedented

capabilities o next-generation CPS

within the next two decades. They

also provide a multilayered view o

the research and development chal-

lenges that must be solved to realize

this potential. Sectors singled out to

illustrate both the promise o antici-

pated CPS applications and obstacles

that stand in the way include smart

manuacturing, smart utilities, smart

buildings and inrastructure, and

smart transportation and mobility.

Transcending challenges and needs

include cybersecurity, technology

platorms with integrated architec-

tures, interoperability standards,communication protocols,

perormance and quality assurance

systems, seamless human-CPS

interactions and education and

workorce training.

The three reports are:

Strategic R&D Opportunities or

21st Century Cyber-Physical Sys-tems: provides a high-level per-

spective on key challenges and re-

search opportunities or advancing

CPS; intended to inorm decisions

about the technology R&D that

should be pursued. Available at

www.nist.gov/el/upload/12-Cyber-

Physical-Systems020113_nal.pd.

StrategicVision and Business Driv-

ers or 21st Century Cyber-PhysicalSystems: summarizes the ideas

generated during an executive

roundtable attended by business

and technical leaders, representing

a spectrum o applications or CPS,

rom medicine to energy to manu-

acturing. Available at www.nist.

gov/el/upload/Exec-Roundtable-

SumReport-Final-1-30-13.pd.

Foundations or Innovation in

Cyber-Physical Systems: summariz-

es the results o a workshop where

scientists and engineers identied

and prioritized technical barriers

including measurement science

and standards-related needsthat

impede progress. Available at

http://www.nist.gov/el/isd/cps-

020613.cm

NIST to Host Three Presidential Innovation Fellows

The National Institute o Stan-

dards and Technology (NIST)

expects to host three new Presi-

dential Innovation Fellows (PIF) rom

the latest round announced yesterday

by the White House.* The PIF pro-

gram pairs top innovators rom the

private sector, nonprots and aca-

demia with top innovators in govern-

ment to collaborate during six-to-12

month tours o duty that aim to

save lives, save taxpayer money and

uel job creation. Fellows are unded

by the sponsoring agencies.

This is the second round o the PIF

program, which began in 2012, and

expands it to nine projects, ve o

which are new, including those that

involve NIST. Applications to be a

Round 2 Fellow will be accepted

through March 17, 2013.

NISTs three ellows will work on

two dierent projects: Cyber-Physical

Systems and MyData Initiatives. Cy-

ber-Physical Systems reers to com-

bining networking and inormation

technology with physical systems to

create a new generation o systems

that integrate distributed networks

o sensors, controls and processors.

These new systems are on the cusp

o unleashing innovation in areas

such as manuacturing, transporta-

tion, utility inrastructures and build-

ings, including home appliances and

remote sensors.**

NISTs two Cyber-Physical Systems

ellows will work with industry and

government partners to create criti-

cally needed standards or

interoperability, cybersecurity, and

real-time data analytics based on

integrated system architectures.

The NIST ellow in the MyData

Initiatives project will work onthe Green Button Initiative, which

aims to enable energy customers to

download their energy usage data se-

curely in a machine-readable ormat

directly rom their utilities. NISTs

ellow will be part o a three-membe

Green Button or America team,

the other two members o which will

work rom the Department o Energy.

*For more inormation on the program, or to apply, visit www.whitehouse.gov/InnovationFellows . The White House news announcement, Throw Your

Hat in the Ring or Round 2 o the Presidential Innovation Fellows Program, is available at www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/02/05/throw-your-hat-

ring-round-2-presidential-innovation-ellows-program.

** See related story in this issue, New Reports Dene Strategic Vision, Propose R&D Priorities or Future Cyber-Physical Systems.
http://www.nist.gov/el/uploadhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_12/12-Cyber-Physical-Systems020113_final.pdf.Strategichttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_12/12-Cyber-Physical-Systems020113_final.pdf.Strategichttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_12/12-Cyber-Physical-Systems020113_final.pdf.Strategichttp://www.nist.gov/el/upload/Exec-Roundtable-SumReport-Final-1-30-13.pdfhttp://www.nist.gov/el/upload/Exec-Roundtable-SumReport-Final-1-30-13.pdfhttp://www.nist.gov/el/isd/cps-020613.cfmhttp://www.nist.gov/el/isd/cps-020613.cfmhttp://www.whitehouse.gov/InnovationFellowshttp://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/02/05/throw-your-hat-ring-round-2-presidential-innovation-fellows-programhttp://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/02/05/throw-your-hat-ring-round-2-presidential-innovation-fellows-programhttp://www.whitehouse.gov/InnovationFellowshttp://www.nist.gov/el/isd/cps-020613.cfmhttp://www.nist.gov/el/isd/cps-020613.cfmhttp://www.nist.gov/el/upload/Exec-Roundtable-SumReport-Final-1-30-13.pdfhttp://www.nist.gov/el/upload/Exec-Roundtable-SumReport-Final-1-30-13.pdfhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_12/12-Cyber-Physical-Systems020113_final.pdf.Strategichttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_12/12-Cyber-Physical-Systems020113_final.pdf.Strategichttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_12/12-Cyber-Physical-Systems020113_final.pdf.Strategichttp://www.nist.gov/el/upload


6/176

Live Burns in Spartanburg, S.C., Will Beneft Research

and Firefghter Training

Fire researchers rom the National

Institute o Standards and Tech-

nology (NIST) and colleagues

rom re service organizations willturn abandoned wood-rame, single-

amily houses near the site o an

old Spartanburg, S.C., textile mill

into proving and training grounds

or new science-driven re-ghting

techniques this week. The objective

o the study is to improve reghter

saety and eectiveness.

Experiments conducted in eight

dierent houses will demonstratere-ghting methodsindividually

and in combinationsor strategi-

cally ventilating and isolating res to

preventor at least delayfashover,

the extremely perilous phenomenon

that occurs when heat builds up in

a burning structures contents and

components to the point that they

burst into fames simultaneously.In conjunction with the experiments,

the International Society o Fire Ser-

vice Instructors (IFSI) will videotape

how reghters implement size-up,

fowpath control, and exterior re

attack, also known as transitional at-

tack. The IFSI will then develop train-

ing modules that will be available to

reghters across the country.

Other collaborators in the eld ex-

periments include the International

Society o Fire Service Instructors,

the South Carolina Fire Academy,

the Spartanburg Fire Department, the

South Carolina State Fire Marshals

Oce and the Spartanburg Public

Saety Oce. The project is unded

with a DHS/FEMA Assistance to Fire-ghters Grant.

In July 2012, in another team eort,

NIST re researchers gathered data

in experimental burns in 20 aban-

doned townhouses on New Yorks

Governors Island, about a kilometer

rom the southern tip o Manhattan.

The Spartanburg re tests are being

conducted in an area slated or a

major redevelopment initiative.

Fireghters in Spartanburg,

S.C., battle a test burn o

an abandoned house in an

experiment to demonstrate

new techniques or combat-

ting fashover, an extremely

dangerous phenomenon in

res. Researchers rom NIST,

the International Society

o Fire Service Instructors,

and state and local re and

saety ocials participated

in the tests the week o

Jan. 20, 2013

Credit: Madrzykowski/NIST


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Report rom the Field: Using Internally Cured

Concrete in Indiana Bridges

Arecent news story rom Pur-

due University describes how

Indiana state transportation

ocials are making concrete use oconcrete research to extend the ser-

vice lie o bridge decks in the state

and to lower repair and maintenance

costs. The Indiana engineers are

using new internally cured high-

perormance concrete, a technology

championed by researchers rom

Purdue and the National Institute o

Standards and Technology (NIST).

Water is an essential part o thechemical reaction that gives concrete

its strength, explains NIST engineer

Dale Bentz, and it can add to the

strength o the material or a long

time, i its available. The chemi-

cal reaction is ongoing or years and

years, Bentz explains. It essen-

tially never stops, but it keeps going

slower and slower. Usually, about 75

percent o the reaction has occurredby 28 days, but the other 25 percent

might happen over many, many

years, as long as there is still water

available and those reactions can still

take place.

Bentz worked with Purdues Jason

Weiss on the denitive review* o in-

ternal curing, a technique to extend

the lie and durability o concrete by

distributing an extra supply o wateruniormly throughout the concrete in

absorbent materials that are mixed in

with the cement and aggregate that

make up concrete. (See the March,

2011, NIST Tech

Beat story, High-

Tech Concrete

Technology Hasa Famous Past

at www.nist.gov/

public_aairs/tech-

beat/tb20110315.

cm#concrete.)

One o the most

important eects

o internal curing

is to make the con-

crete more resis-tant to early-age

cracking, Bentz says. This is espe-

cially important or concrete bridge

decks, where such cracks allow

winter deicing salts to more rapidly

inltrate the concrete and attack

steel reinorcing bars.

In addition, says Bentz, internal

curing is particularly important or

greener, more environmentally

riendly concrete mixtures. For

sustainability, engineers are trying to

take out more cement and replace it

with other materials, such as fy ash.

Cement production is very energy

intensive and has a signicant CO2

ootprintmaking a ton o cement

produces almost a ton o carbon

dioxide. But in these high-volume

fy ash mixtures, internal curing isimportant because while the fy ash

will react with the cement, it takes a

lot longer. Ater 28 days, maybe 30

percent or less o the fy ash has re-

acted, so you really need to keep the

concrete saturated or an extended

period o time.**

Read the Purdue University story,

Indiana using new concrete to in-

crease bridge lie span at www.pur-

due.edu/newsroom/releases/2013/

Q1/indiana-using-new-concrete-to-

increase-bridge-lie-span.html.

Another recent development o the

NIST and Purdue work on internal

curing is the approval, this past

summer, o a new standard specica-

tion by ASTM International. ASTM

C1761-12, Standard Specication or

Lightweight Aggregate or Internal

Curing o Concrete, provides test

methods and other inormation or

evaluating and incorporating light-weight, absorbent aggregates or

internal curing o concrete.

* D.P. Bentz and W.J. Weiss. Internal Curing: A 2010 State-o-the-Art Review (NISTIR 7765). Feb. 2011. Available at: www.nist.gov/manuscript-publication-search

cm?pub_id=907729.

** See, or example: I. de la Varga, J. Castro, D. Bentz and W.J. Weiss. Application o internal curing or mixtures containing high volumes o fy ash. Cement and

Concrete Composites, 34 (9), 1001-1008, 2012.
http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/tech-beat/tb20110315.cfm#concretehttp://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/tech-beat/tb20110315.cfm#concretehttp://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2013/Q1/indiana-using-new-concrete-to-increase-bridge-life-span.htmlhttp://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2013/Q1/indiana-using-new-concrete-to-increase-bridge-life-span.htmlhttp://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2013/Q1/indiana-using-new-concrete-to-increase-bridge-life-span.htmlhttp://www.nist.gov/manuscript-publication-search.cfm?pub_id=907729http://www.nist.gov/manuscript-publication-search.cfm?pub_id=907729http://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2013/Q1/indiana-using-new-concrete-to-increase-bridge-life-span.htmlhttp://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2013/Q1/indiana-using-new-concrete-to-increase-bridge-life-span.htmlhttp://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2013/Q1/indiana-using-new-concrete-to-increase-bridge-life-span.htmlhttp://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/tech-beat/tb20110315.cfm#concretehttp://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/tech-beat/tb20110315.cfm#concrete


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NIST and Forest Service Create Worlds First Hazard

Scale or Wildland Fires

Two ederal agencies have

teamed to create the rst-ever

system or linking accurate

assessments o risk rom wildlandres to improved building codes,

standards and practices that will help

communities better resist the threat.

The proposed Wildland Urban Inter-

ace (WUI) Hazard Scale addresses

res that occur where developed and

undeveloped areas meet, and is de-

scribed in a report* released today by

the U.S. Department o Commerce's

National Institute o Standards andTechnology (NIST) in collaboration

with the U.S. Department o Agricul-

ture's U.S. Forest Service (USFS).

"Structures in areas susceptible to

other natural hazards, such as earth-

quakes, hurricanes and tornados,

can be built to address the potential

risks rom these disasters because we

have measurement scales that denethat riskthe Richter or quakes, the

Sar-Simpson or hurricanes and

the Enhanced Fujita or tornados,"

says NIST's Alexander Maranghides,

who created the new wildre hazard

assessment tool with William Mell o

the USFS. "Now, we have proposed

a scale specically or wildland res

that will allow us to link exposure to

improved codes and standards, andas a result, save lives, property and

dollars."

The problem o WUI** res, par-

ticularly in the western and south-

ern regions o the United States,

has been growing more prevalent

as housing developments push

into wilderness areas. According to

the Bureau o Land Management'sNational Interagency Fire Center

(NIFC), the 10 years since 2002 saw

an annual average o nearly 71,000

WUI res recorded and 1.9 million

hectares (4.7 million acres) burned.

Through the end o October 2012,

the number o WUI res or the year

is below the average at slightly more

than 54,000, but the amount o dam-

age is nearly double with 3.7 millionhectares (9.1 million acres) having

burnedapproximately 1,000 times

the total area o Rhode Island. The

monetary toll rom the destruction is

staggering; the NIFC estimates that

Figure 1. Matrix or Capturing Exposure rom Wildland Fuels

One side o the matrix represents the our types o uel sources considered: homogeneous surace uels (such as prairie

grasses), inhomogeneous surace uels (such as palmetto), inhomogeneous shrubs and low vegetation (such as chaparral) and

canopied orest (such as the orests o pine, cedar, juniper or aspen ound in the intermountain west region between the Rock-

ies and the Sierra Madre/Cascades). The other two sides o the matrix represent three types o topography (ravine, slope and

fat) and three local weather conditions (no wind, low wind and high wind).

Credit: Alex Maranghides/NIST


9/179

ederal agencies spend an average

o $1.2 billion per year on WUI

re suppression alone, with state

and local agencies contributing

millions more.

To combat such tremendous losses,

NIST and USFS have developed aproactive approach that could one

day provide buildings and the com-

munities in which they reside with

increased resistance to WUI res.

The WUI Hazard Scale is designed

to consistently measure the expected

risks rom re and embers during a

WUI re event or individual loca-

tions within a community, taking into

account the ever-changing nature othose hazards.

"Wildres are among the ew natural

disasters in which risk levels can rap-

idly change as the event progresses

and the threat doesn't weaken with

distance away rom a well-dened

epicenter, as in a tornado," Mell

says. "For example, i your home is

nestled deep within a neighborhood

away rom the leading edge o a re,you might not be at risk early on.

However, the danger to your home

dramatically increases i a neighbor-

ing house, the surrounding landscape

or a nearby vehicle catches on re."

Fire behavior in wildlands and the

wildland urban interace is a unction

o uel (both vegetation and struc-

tures), topography and local weather.

The WUI Hazard Scale accounts or

local and transient variations in these

actors so that each specic location

can be rated as to its susceptibility

to both re and embers. The range

o ratings can then be used to cre-

ate a map o the dierent levels o

risk throughout a community and

pinpoint where protective measures

or "hardening" o structures are most

needed.

Once the overall exposure risk in a

particular zone is determined, the

researchers say they can predict the

likely response o individual struc-

tures and even components o those

structures (such as whether or not a

wooden deck is treated with a re

retardant) to embers and re.

As portrayed in today's report, the

WUI Hazard Scale currently consid-

ers re and ember exposure rom a

single source, wildland uels. The

researchers have designed the scale

to easily accommodate additional

threats and plan to include exposure

rom three other sources associated

with WUI resburning structures,

ornamental vegetation and vehi-

clesat a later date, using the same

methodology.

In their report, Maranghides and Mel

portray the WUI Fire Hazard Scale

or re and ember exposure as athree-dimensional matrix (see Figure

1). One side o the matrix represents

our types o uel sources; a second,

three types o topography; and a

third, three wind conditions.

* A. Maranghides and W. Mell. NIST Technical Note 1748: Framework or Addressing the National Wildland Urban Interace Fire Problem

Determining Fire and Ember Exposure Zones using a WUI Hazard Scale (2012).

** USFS denes the wildland urban interace, or WUI, as an area where structures and other human development meet or intermingle with undevel-

oped wildland or vegetative uels.

Figure 2. Wildland Ember Exposure on a Community Using the WUI Fire

Hazard Scale

The ember risks shown in this illustration increase rom E1, no likely expo-

sure, to E4, highest likelihood o exposure. Credit: Alex Maranghides/NIST


10/1710

Field data collected rom and com-

puter modeling o prescribed burns

(controlled res used in wildland

management) were used to dene

the specics o the uel, topography

and weather characteristics attrib-

uted to dierent "exposures"our

or embers and our or re, ranging

in severity rom 1 (no exposure) to

4 (most severe exposure). Based on

this, each block in the WUI Fire Haz-

ard Scale matrix is assigned a mea-

sure o severity or both embers and

re. These exposure ratings are used

to map a community's varying risks

rom embers and re (see Figure 2).

To link the scale to a means o pro-tecting communities, Maranghides

and Mell have proposed our "build-

ing construction classes" dened

or dierent risk zones in a mapped

community. Structures in a zone

designated with a low exposure risk

rom embers or re would require no

special construction considerations.

At the other end o the spectrum,

a structure built in a zone with the

greatest exposure risk would require

a high level o construction harden-

ing measures such as windows and

doors being covered with insulated,

noncombustible coverings and land-

scaping that was irrigated and well

maintained or low fammability.

"I homes and other buildings in

the most susceptible zones can be

built or retrotted to high-risk stan-

dards, they could potentially serve

as a 'rontline deensive wall' or thestructures in the lower-risk zones

they surround," Maranghides ex-

plains. "In eect, we may be able to

mitigate the entire dynamic o a WUI

re event i the rontline structures

don't ignite."

Maranghides says that now that the

hazard scale proposes a ramework

or addressing the WUI re prob-

lem, the next step is to collect theappropriate data to make it viable.

NIST and USFS, he says, will do this

through eld evaluations o exposure

characteristics in a wide variety o

communities and surveys o areas

that have recently experienced WUI

res. The two agencies also will be

working with various public and

private stakeholder groups toward

acceptance and implementationo the proposed scale and building

construction classes with the goal

o improving standards, codes and

practices.

NIST's work on WUI res is part o

its statutory responsibilities or

enhancing disaster resilience by

reducing the risks o res, earth-

quakes, windstorms and coastal

inundation on buildings, inrastruc-

ture and communities, including

acility occupants/users and

emergency responders.

The mission o USFS is to sustain the

health, diversity and productivity o

the nation's orests and grasslands to

meet the needs o present and uture

generations. The agency manages

193 million acres o public land,

provides assistance to state and pri-

vate landowners, and maintains thelargest orestry research organization

in the world.

As a nonregulatory agency o the

U.S. Department o Commerce,

NIST promotes U.S. innovation and

industrial competitiveness by advanc-

ing measurement science, standards

and technology in ways that enhance

economic security and improve our

quality o lie.


11/1711

New York Taps NISTs Sunder or Post-Sandy Review

o Critical Systems and Services

Shyam Sunder, director o the

Engineering Laboratory at the

National Institute o Standards

and Technology (NIST), has agreedto serve on the New York State Ready

Commission, ormed by Governor

Andrew Cuomo to recommend ways

to ensure critical systems and ser-

vices are prepared or uture natural

disasters and other emergencies.

The expert commission is one o

three that Cuomo launched in the

atermath o recent major storms, in-

cluding Hurricanes Sandy and Irene,that devastated parts o the state and

revealed weaknesses in New Yorks

transportation, energy, communica-

tions and health inrastructures.

The Ready Commission will review

critical systems and services and

recommend measures to prepare

or uture natural disasters and other

emergencies. It also will advise the

governor on ways to ensure:

new, modied and existing con-

struction is resilient;

adequate equipment, uel, ood,

water and other emergency sup-

plies are available;

rst responders and other critical

personnel can communicate e-

ciently and have access to ad-

equate resources; reliable, real-time inormation is

available or decision makers; and

lines o authority are clear and

ocials have the authority to react

rapidly to emergency situations.

Cuomo issued an Ex-

ecutive Order on Nov. 15,

2012, to orm the Ready

Commission and the twoothersone ocusing on

responses to uture weath-

er-related disasters and the

other on ways to improve

the resilience and strength

o the states inrastructure

in the ace o natural

disasters and other

emergencies.

Preliminaryrecommendations by all

three commissions are due

on Jan. 3, 2013.

As director o the NIST Engineer-

ing Laboratory, Sunder manages an

annual budget o $90 million, 260

employees, and about 150 guest

researchers rom U.S industry and

universities as well as oreign labo-

ratories. He oversees NISTs statutory

responsibilities or enhancing disas-

ter resilience by reducing the risks

o res, earthquakes, windstorms

and coastal inundation on build-

ings, inrastructure and communi-

ties, including acility occupants/

users and emergency responders. He

also oversees the multiagency U.S.

National Earthquake Hazards Reduc-

tion Program. Sunder led the ederalbuilding and re saety investigation

o the World Trade Center Disaster in

the atermath o the terrorist attacks

o September 11, 2001.

To read the press release

announcing the launch o the

commissions, go to: www.governor.

ny.gov/press/11152012-Emergency-

Preparedness.

Dr. S. Shyam Sunder

Credit: Berkemeyer/NIST
http://www.governor.ny.gov/press/11152012-Emergency-Preparednesshttp://www.governor.ny.gov/press/11152012-Emergency-Preparednesshttp://www.governor.ny.gov/press/11152012-Emergency-Preparednesshttp://www.governor.ny.gov/press/11152012-Emergency-Preparedness


12/1712

NIST Workshop Seeks Manuacturers Ideas

on Using Multipurpose Robots

The National Institute o Stan-

dards and Technology (NIST)

wants to help turn manuactur-

ing robots into dexterous, nimble-ngered machinesaordable

mechanical helpers that can easily

handle dierent types o objects and

fexibly assist human workers at even

small U.S. actories.

At a January 24, 2013, workshop

in Chicago, Ill., NIST researchers

and their partners rom industry

will be asking manuacturers to

identiy where in assembly andother production-related operations

dexterous robots would provide the

biggest boost to their capabilities

and process eciency. Sponsored by

the Robotics Industry Association,

the NIST Workshop on Dexterous

Manipulation or Manuacturing

Applications will be held in conjunc-

tion with Automate 2013, a biennial

conerence and trade show ocusingon process automation.

Three sessions will eature presenta-

tions by industry leaders on dexter-

ous grasping, robot arm technology,

and fexible manuacturing. Each

session will conclude with an open-

ormat panel discussion on needs

and opportunities or dexterous

manipulation in next-generation

manuacturing systems, especially orlow-volume production runs.

Todays manuacturing robots are

largely limited to perorming repeti-

tive, and sometimes, dangerous, tasks

such as spot welding or picking and

placing heavy parts.

Typically, they require expensive,

customized tooling, and or saety

reasons, are situated in cordoned-o

workspaces.When the dimensions or shape o

an assembly part are altered, tool

changers are used to swap out a

robots grippers or other so-called

end-eector devices that are cus-

tomized or specialized tasks. This

high degree o specialization greatly

increases product changeover time

and cost.

A goal o researchers at universities

and companies around the world is

to develop robot grippers with fex-

ibility and sensitivity approaching

that o the human hand. I eective,

reliable, and aordable, such dexter-

ous end-eectors would transorm

how and where robots are used in

manuacturing, opening the way to

new ways o making things in both

large and small batches.

The number

o promis-

ing, but still

experimental designs

o robots and associated

tooling that can nimbly

wield parts o various shapes

and sizes is growing, says

engineer Joseph Falco, who

leads the NIST Project Dexterous

Manipulation or Part Grasping and

Assembly. This is a good time or all

types o manuacturers to take note

o these developments and to think

about how they might make the best

use o these

emerging technologies and capa-

bilities in their operations, Falco

explains.

A goal o the NIST project is todevelop a prototype measurement

system to gauge the perormance o

still-experimental universal robotic

grasping tools with novel geometries

and articulation, including hand-like

designs hands. Inormation gathered

at the workshop will help guide

work toward this goal and others

that Falco and his team are pursuing.

Workshop input will be summarizedin a uture publication.

For workshop inormation, go to:

www.nist.gov/el/isd/dexmanwork-

shop.cm. The Automate 2013 web-

site is www.automate2013.com.

For inormation on the NIST Project

Dexterous Manipulation or Automa-

tion Systems, go to: www.nist.gov/el/

isd/ps/dexmanpartgraspassem.cm.

Shutterstock/Linda Buckl
http://www.nist.gov/el/isd/dexmanworkshop.cfmhttp://www.nist.gov/el/isd/dexmanworkshop.cfmhttp://www.automate2013.com/http://www.nist.gov/el/isd/ps/dexmanpartgraspassem.cfmhttp://www.nist.gov/el/isd/ps/dexmanpartgraspassem.cfmhttp://www.nist.gov/el/isd/ps/dexmanpartgraspassem.cfmhttp://www.nist.gov/el/isd/ps/dexmanpartgraspassem.cfmhttp://www.automate2013.com/http://www.nist.gov/el/isd/dexmanworkshop.cfmhttp://www.nist.gov/el/isd/dexmanworkshop.cfm


13/1713

States Realize Big Benefts by Keeping Current with

Energy Standards or Buildings

States that have not adopted the

latest energy-eciency stan-

dard or commercial buildings

are oregoing an average reductiono almost 10 percent in energy

consumed by new structures over

10 years, which would trim their

energy costs and carbon emissions

by over 12 percent, according to

a study* by an economist at the

National Institute o Standards and

Technology (NIST).

As important, the sizeable reductions

in energy use and carbon emissionsare cost-eective, says NISTs Joshua

Kneiel, who analyzed energy usage

and other variables or more than

12,500 buildings across 228 U.S. cit-

ies. Overall, more stringent eciency

requirements do not increase total

construction and uture operation

costs or new commercial buildings.

In act, the average lie-cycle cost

over 10 years decreases byan average o nearly 1 percent,

Kneiel ound.

The analysis reveals that there are

energy-eciency gains to be had

nationwide. Even in the 31 states

that have adopted the more recent

update o the energy standard or

commercial buildings,** only slightly

more rigorous requirementssuch

as increasing the thermal eciencyo insulation and reducing lighting

densitiescan deliver substantial

benets.

Kneiel estimates that i all 50 states

adopted a low energy case build-

ing design, newly constructed

buildings would consume about 18percent less energy in the average

state. Over the 10-year study period,

this average would translate into

energy cost savings o more

than 22 percent and a 20 percent

reduction in energy-related carbon

emissions. Building lie-cycle costs

over those 10 years would dip by

about 1 percent.

The largest energy, cost and environ-mental benets, o course, would go

to the 11 states that today have no

commercial building energy code

and the three using the oldest ver-

sion o the eciency standard, which

is updated about every three years

by ASHRAE, a building technol-

ogy standards organization. I these

states adopted the studys low energy

design, all 14 would realize at least a25 percent decrease in their total en-

ergy use and reductions o about 30

percent in energy costs and carbon

emissions.

Kneiels analysis is based on com-

puter simulations o how 11 dier-

ent types o buildingsrom high

schools, restaurants and retail stores

to oce buildings, hotels and apart-

mentsuse energy. These buildingtypes represent 46 percent o the

nations commercial building stock

foor space. The 228 cities included

in the study were distributed across

the nation and are representative o

all climates across the country. The

study also considered variation in

energy sources and uel mixes orelectric poweror example, the

percentages o power generated by

coal or natural gas.

The NIST economist also conducted

detailed analyses o seven states

that represent the ull range o state

energy-eciency codes, climate

types, and new commercial build-

ing foor space added between 2003

and 2007. In addition to providing awealth o comparative inormation

on energy use and eciency or the

seven states, the analyses demon-

strate the useulness o a new NIST

database and sotware tools that will

debut in late 2013. Called BIRDS

(or Building Industry Reporting and

Design or Sustainability), the ree,

Web-based tool kit will urther

research, design, and planningeorts ocused on building energy

use and technologies to improve

energy eciency.

BIRDS complements NISTs Build-

ing or Environmental and Economic

Sustainability tool (commonly known

as BEES). Widely used in industry

and government, BEES includes

actual environmental and economic

perormance data or 230 buildingproducts and science-based tech-

niques or selecting cost-eective,

environmentally preerable

building products.

* J. Kneiel, Benets and Costs o Energy Standard Adoption in New Commercial Buildings, NIST Special Publication 1147, February, 2013. http://dx.doi.

org/10.6028/NIST.SP.1147

** ASHRAE Energy Standard or Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings (ASHRAE-90.1-). For more inormation: https://www.ashrae.org/resourc-

es--publications/bookstore/standard-90-1#2007.
http://dx.doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.1147http://dx.doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.1147https://www.ashrae.org/resources--publications/bookstore/standard-90-1#2007https://www.ashrae.org/resources--publications/bookstore/standard-90-1#2007https://www.ashrae.org/resources--publications/bookstore/standard-90-1#2007https://www.ashrae.org/resources--publications/bookstore/standard-90-1#2007http://dx.doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.1147http://dx.doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.1147


14/1714

New Guide Will Allow Electric Utilities to Develop

Green Button Web Tools

Anew guide* or Web de-

velopers recently released

by the National Institute o

Standards and Technology (NIST)will make it easier or electric utili-

ties and vendors to give customers

convenient, electronic access to their

energy usage data with tools and

applications developed as part o the

new Green Button initiative.

Green Button aims to provide elec-

tricity and gas consumers with their

own energy usage inormation in an

understandable and computer-riend-ly standardized electronic ormat

via a Green Button on a utilitys

web site. Consumers armed with this

inormation can then use an array

o new Web applications to make

more inormed energy decisions and

to veriy that their energy-eciency

investments are perorming as prom-

ised. To help utilities and vendors

create Web services and applicationsthat communicate and handle Green

Button data appropriately, NIST cre-

ated a special Sotware Development

Kit, which the new guide will help

developers use eectively.

The User Guide is a playbook or

implementation o the Green But-ton Sotware Development Kit, says

David Wollman, the NIST lead or

Green Button and program manager

or smart grid standards and research

in NISTs Smart Grid and Cyber-Phys-

ical Systems Program Oce. All the

dierent technical innovatorsWeb

designers, entrepreneurs, utility

expertswill nd the help they need

inside.

Included in the new guide is inor-

mation on:

The composition o Green Button

data and how it ts together

How to make Green Button data

accessible to users via XML style

sheets, which render the data com-

prehensible to the consumer; and

Sample source code showing whatdata to begin with, as well as ex-

amples o nished data sets

The User

Guide, which

is reely

available viathe website,

contains all

the lessons

learned since the announcement

o the Green Button Initiative in

September 2011 and the release o

the Sotware Development Kit the

ollowing month. It provides a good

overview or those utilities not yet

using Green Button, Wollman says.For more inormation on Green But-

ton, please visit www.nist.gov/smart-

grid/greenbutton.cm

*The User Guide or the NIST Green Button Sotware Development Kit is available at https://collaborate.nist.gov/twiki-sggrid/bin/view/SmartGrid/GreenButton-

SDK and includes a link to the NIST Green Button Sotware Development Kit source repository. It was produced with the technical support o Marty Burns o

Hypertek, Inc., a contractor to NIST.
http://www.nist.gov/smartgrid/greenbutton.cfmhttp://www.nist.gov/smartgrid/greenbutton.cfmhttps://collaborate.nist.gov/twiki-sggrid/bin/view/SmartGrid/GreenButtonSDKhttps://collaborate.nist.gov/twiki-sggrid/bin/view/SmartGrid/GreenButtonSDKhttps://collaborate.nist.gov/twiki-sggrid/bin/view/SmartGrid/GreenButtonSDKhttps://collaborate.nist.gov/twiki-sggrid/bin/view/SmartGrid/GreenButtonSDKhttp://www.nist.gov/smartgrid/greenbutton.cfmhttp://www.nist.gov/smartgrid/greenbutton.cfm


15/1715

New NIST Report Provides Comprehensive

Overview o U.S. Manuacturing

Anew report rom the National

Institute o Standards and

Technology (NIST) provides a

comprehensive, top-level view o TheCurrent State and Recent Trends o

the U.S. Manuacturing Industry.*

Drawing on a variety o domes-

tic and international data sources,

NIST economist Douglas S. Thomas

assesses the roles that $1.8 trillion

sector plays in the national economy

and compares U.S. manuacturing

perormance against that o other

countries, using an assortment omeasures.

This report provides a uniquely

wide range o useul indicators or

analysis o manuacturing growth

policies, said NIST Chie Economist

Gregory Tassey. These indicators

cover all phases o the technology

lie cycle, lling a critical data gap

essential or assessing existing poli-

cies and projecting needed adjust-

ments to those policies.

Thomass study also points out

how shortcomings in available data

sets can limit their useulness and

complicate eorts to identiy and

understand changes in the

manuacturing sector.

The current state and uture o U.S.

manuacturing are much discussedthese days. Popular assessments,

oten anecdotal, may convey con-

ficting impressionsthat the sec-

tors glass is either hal ull or hal

empty. And commentators may

marshal statistics to support their

particular view.

For example, Thomas points out that

in 2008 the United States was the

worlds largest manuacturer, ac-

counting or 18 percent o globalproduction. The U.S. share has

declined by more than a third since

1985. As developing countries

industrialize, their levels o income

and production increase and so does

their piece o the worlds manuac-

turing pie. However, Thomas

explains that as these emerging

economies grow, they purchase

more goods and services,enlarging the pie.

In act, the value o U.S. manuactur-

ing output grew at a compounded

annual rate o 1.8 percent between

1985 and 2008, somewhat slower

than the economy as a whole. In-

ternationally, according to United

Nations (UN) statistics, the sectors

growth rate placed it 151st among

180 nations. As might be expected,most o the countries with aster

manuacturing growth rates were

developing economies, but not all.

Canada, Japan, Germany, and the

United Kingdom also grew at aster

average annual rates over the

23-year span.

Other key ndings in the report

include:

U.S. manuacturing per capita has

lagged slightly behind some indus-

trialized nations, such as Germany

and Japan. At least 20 other nations

had a higher manuacturing value

added per capita than the U.S. in

2008, according to UN data.

Manuacturing accounts or 27.9%

o U.S. national output (which

includes the sales and purchases

o nal and intermediate goodsand services), according to data

compiled by the Organization and

Economic Cooperation and Devel-

opment (OECD). This share is less

than that or Canada, China, Ger-

many, India, Japan, and Mexico, as

well as some other nations.

Among industrialized countries,

the average U.S. manuacturing

wage ranks in the top 90 percent,according to the OECD.

To download a PDF copy o the new

138-page report click on this URL:

http://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/Spe-

cialPublications/NIST.SP.1142.pd

*D.S. Thomas, The Current State and Recent Trends o the U.S. Manuacturing Industry. NIST Special

Publication 1142, Dec. 2012.
http://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/SpecialPublications/NIST.SP.1142.pdfhttp://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/SpecialPublications/NIST.SP.1142.pdfhttp://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/SpecialPublications/NIST.SP.1142.pdfhttp://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/SpecialPublications/NIST.SP.1142.pdf


16/1716

Emil SimiuNIST Fellow

Structural Engineer magazines

2012 Power List

FFor advancing the proession and developing solutions

to some o the worlds toughest problems

Simon Frechette & Paul Huang

Systems Integration DivisionAwarded the 2012

DoD Defense Manufacturing Technology

Achievement Award

For advancement o 3D technical data package and data

certication standards that will reduce deense system

liecycle support costs

Terri McAllister

Selected to become an SEI Fellow by The

Structural Engineering Institute (SEI) of the

American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)

For her accomplishments in the eld o

structural engineering

Paul Stutzman

Receivied the 2013 ASTMInternational Award of Merit

For his knowledge and commitment to excellence in

standards development and or having a major impact

in his eld and have made ASTM International a technica

leader in todays global business world

Sta Awards

Three Experts Named to Earthquake Advisory Board

Three earthquake authorities

rom academia and the private

sector have been appointed by

Patrick Gallagher, Under Secretary o

Commerce or Standards and Tech-

nology and Director o the National

Institute o Standards and Technol-

ogy (NIST), to serve on the Advisory

Committee on Earthquake Hazards

Reduction (ACEHR) o the National

Earthquake Hazards Reduction Pro-

gram (NEHRP).

Established by the Earthquake Haz-

ards Reduction Act o 1977, NEHRP

is the ederal governments pro-gram to reduce the risks to lie and

property rom earthquakes. NEHRP

consists o our ederal agencies: the

Federal Emergency Management

Agency (FEMA), the National Science

Foundation (NSF), the United States

Geological Survey (USGS) and NIST,

which serves as lead agency.

The new ACEHR members, whose

terms extend to July 31, 2015, are:

Craig Davis, geotechnical engineer-ing manager, Los Angeles Depart-

ment o Water and Power, Los An-

geles, Cali.; Robert Herrmann, Paul

C. Reinert Chair o Natural Sciences,

Saint Louis University, St. Louis, Mo.;

and Mary Lou Zoback, seismologist

and consulting proessor, Stanord

University, Stanord, Cali. They join

a group o nine previously appointed

academic, industry and governmentexperts on the ACEHR.

The committees responsibilities

include assessing:

trends and developments in the

science and engineering o earth-

quake hazards reduction;

the eectiveness o NEHRP in

perorming its statutory activities

(ostering improved design and

construction methods and practic-

es; land use controls and redevel-

opment; prediction techniques and

early-warning systems; coordinated

emergency preparedness plans;

and public education and involve-

ment programs);

any need to revise NEHRP; and

the management, coordination,

implementation, and activities o

NEHRP.

More inormation on NEHRP andthe ACEHR can be ound at

http://www.nehrp.gov.
http://www.nehrp.gov/http://www.nehrp.gov/


17/17

NIST Engineering Laboratory

Dr. S. Shyam Sunder, Director

100 Bureau Drive, M/S 8600

Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899-8600

301-975-5900 Telephone

301-975-4032 Facsimile

www.nist.gov/el

[email protected]

For more inormation about EL,please visit our website at

www.nist.gov/el/

Recent

Publications

Multizone Airfow Models or Calculating Inltration

Rates in Commercial Reerence Buildings

Characterization o Airborne Nanoparticle Releases

rom Consumer Products

Measurement Science Needs or the Expanded Use

o Green Concrete: Workshop Summary Report

Standard Adoption in New Commercial Buildings

Smoke Alarm Perormance in Kitchen Fires and

Nuisance Alarm Scenarios

Reerence Material to Improve Reliability o Building

Product VOC Emissions Testing

Development o a Reerence Material or Building

Product Emissions Testing Indoor ultrane particles o outdoor origin:

importance o building operating conditions

Diusion-controlled reerence material or

VOC emissions testing: The eect o temperature

and humidity

Standard Formaldehyde Source or Chamber Testing

o Material Emissions: Modeling and Preliminary Tests

Multizone Modeling o Strategies to Reduce

the Spread o Airborne Inectious Agents in

Healthcare Facilities

Perormance Improvement o a Roo Top Air-Condi-

tioning Unit by Rerigerant Circuitry Optimization

Perormance Metrics o Speed and Separation

Monitoring in Shared Workspaces

Flow Control in Time-Varying, Random Supply Chains

Survey Report or Ambulance Patient

Compartment Design

Framework or Addressing the National Wildland

Urban Interace Fire Problem--Determining Fire and

Ember Exposure Zones Using a WUI Hazard Scale

Identiying improved standardized tests or measuring

cement particle size and surace area

Building air leakage databases in energy conservation

policies: analysis o selected initiatives in 4 European

countries and the USA

Quantiying Residual Stress Development

and Reserve Strength in Restrained Internally

Cured Concrete

Meteorological extremes

The Current State and Recent Trends o the U.S.

Manuacturing Industry

Characterization o the US Construction Labor Supply

STEP File Analyzer Users Guide

Exposing Wood Decking Assemblies to Continuous

Wind-Driven Firebrand Showers

Standard Operating Procedures or Smolder Ignition

Testing o Upholstery Fabrics

Search or titles at:

www.nist.gov/publication-portal.cm
http://www.nist.gov/elmailto:[email protected]://www.nist.gov/elhttp://www.nist.gov/publication-portal.cfmhttp://www.nist.gov/publication-portal.cfmhttp://www.nist.gov/elmailto:[email protected]://www.nist.gov/el

el newsletter spring 13

Documents